Conor Casey and Pablo Mastroeni will be called to lead again in 2010. (Getty Images)

We’re moving on in our look at each Major League Soccer roster to see where all the clubs are at in their pre-season. So far we’ve looked at Philadelphia, Chicago and Chivas USA. Today we stay out west and look at Gary Smith’s Colorado Rapids.

Last season had some ups and downs for the Rapids. Offensively at times they looked like they could not be stopped with Conor Casey and Omar Cummings leading the charge but injuries got in the way of post season glory for this bunch.

The winter months have given Smith and his club some time to make some moves and so far they’ve been pretty active. I still see this club making more moves before the season kicks off next month. But lets see how they are doing at each position right now. Continue Reading…

With stars like Conor Casey and Pablo Mastroeni, the Rapids should have done better in 2009. (Getty Images)

Consistent play was always an issue in 2008 for the Colorado Rapids, and it turned out 2009 wasn’t much different. The Rapids looked like a team that could contend in early on in 2009 but the ladder part of the season tore this group apart as injuries were racked up and the offensive production that was one of the best in the league at times turned into a pumpkin.

Gary Smith took over late last season and did actually get his club started in the right path in 2009. Conor Casey and Omar Cummings turned into one of the league’s best duos as they each racked up the goals while Cummings also provided the assists. The play out of the midfield was actually more impressive as Mehdi Ballouchy actually looked like he had a decent touch for once and Colin Clark started to actually produce like we all expect him to.

But injuries took over this club and when that happen any sort of consistent play this club would produce would go out the window as expected. Their depth showed it was a big weakness and in return the guys that were producing well turned out to not be able to produce when it mattered most. The ladder part of the season Casey could only find the back of the net from the PK spot and Cummings went dry from the start of September till the end of the year.

Rapids fans are left with a lot of what ifs on the season after a promising summer that saw so much productivity out of Casey and Cummings. In the final six weeks of the season the Rapids completely came apart. Some people like Ives even called out everything about the team’s current state of affairs like it was going down as fast as a sinking ship.

What Went Right In 2009:
When Casey and Cummings were on it was pretty cool to watch. The two would light up pretty much any club that stood in their way. The midfield play then was also fun to watch as it had such a good nucleus of talent.

What Went Wrong In 2009:
It seems as the more shares of Arsenal that owner Stan Kroenke buys the worse things get for this bunch in Colorado. As mentioned above the last few weeks of the year really did them in for good on the season. Injuries took a big toll on the club mostly because they are build to use the wings and when guys like Colin Clark went down for the year so did the production of this group.

What’s Next:
For this bunch it is all about getting healthy and correcting what went wrong late in the year. Sad part is I don’t see this bunch getting any better over the offseason with the way things currently are in Denver. Finding a Designated player in the offseason may help but building some depth will probably go a longer way in repairing this club on the field. Off the field this bunch needs a make over. A couple years ago things seemed so promising as they moved into a new stadium but now it seems like this group has gone down the deep dark path that teams like FC Dallas are in. They need to repair things within their fanbase in a big way.

So this past week had  a load of quality goals. I mean a load that were just great from top to bottom. A couple could really be classed as goal of the year quality too (Landon Donvoan’s comes to mind). While I am sorting out the issues with the post I had for the weekend recap, here are the week’s best goals to get us started this week.

Order of goals: Kai Kamera, Ricardo Clark, Chris Rolfe, Peter Lowry, Pablo Mastroeni, Conor Casey (1 and 2), Robbie Findley, Alejandro Moreno, Robbie Rogers, Landon Donovan, and Jeff Cunningham.

Time once again for another full week of Major League Soccer action as week seven is about to kick off tomorrow. Seven games this weekend with the bulk of games on Saturday evening with one lone game on Sunday afternoon.

A lot of clubs are still in need of some wins here, especially LA and Columbus who are both winless so far this season. A couple other clubs are hoping to change their luck with a win this weekend as well while others are hoping to stay on course with their current run of play so far this season.

As always feel free to leave your game predictions below. Continue Reading…

One thing that may be sneaking up on everyone is next Monday’s trade deadline. Yup, Major League Soccer is just like every other American sports league by having a trade deadline.

The big question is who is left to be traded at this point?

- New York is looking for a striker within the league. We’ve known that for weeks now but they haven’t made a play at anyone as of today. Sources say they are still interested in a couple current MLS strikers like Dallas’s Dominic Oduro and Colorado’s Omar Cummings. I still doubt either will be traded. They’ve been giving a serious look to USL2 midfielder Matthew M’Buta for several weeks now and look ready to sign him.

- Will Colorado actually make a move now that they are within a couple points of a playoff spot? Yeah, no they won’t – or at least I wouldn’t bet on it. If anything people will continue to exit.

- I would still like to see guys like Pablo Mastroeni or Christian Gomez be looked at by a serious contender. I say that because I highly doubt either will be in Colorado next season with the Rapids. Think a San Jose or a Real Salt Lake could use one of them to beef up their playoff bid here? Throw some allocation and draft picks out there, it make sense to me.

- There are a couple teams looking to deal though before the deadline but I wouldn’t expect any more blockbuster deals.

Any deals out there you think should happen? Be realistic here too, none of this Schelotto for some reserve that never plays for the reserve team kind of thing.

A lot has been made of the players this summer who have left Major League Soccer for higher wages in Europe. I figured since today was a slower news day I would take a look at the next group of guys that could potentially cash in on a move across the pond.

Feel free to give your thoughts on a player listed here or bring up a name that isn’t being talked about that could see a move across the pond.

I will do this in a couple different sections too. Players who could go now or have tried and players who are more in line to be the next Brad Guzan or Maurice Edu.

Players Who’ve Tried:

1. Kenny Cooper, FC Dallas: We all know Coopers attempts this summer to go to either Rosenborg or in Cardiff City. FC Dallas said no way to any and all transfer fees, even the really nice ones like Cardiff’s $4 million offer. I think we all know his name will be thrown out again come winter, even though his club has a couple options left on his contract AND they are still actively working to get him a new deal.

2. Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy: We’ve heard him say he wants to try his hand at Europe once more. I would say if this whole deal with Bruce Arena falls apart you could see him throw his name out a bit more. But in all reality he is a whipped man at home and he doesn’t appear ready to leave his wife and TV star Bianca Kajlich behind just yet. I think its more of a thing if her TV career falls in the tanks, you could see him go. For me its a ‘never-say-never’ kind of thing with Landon and Europe.

3. Taylor Twellman, New England Revolution: He tried to leave and it didn’t happen. Sort of like what Dallas did with Cooper. Said no way and good day. I think Twellman’s injury status this season and the Revs quality play may help him out if he still wants to leave this winter. The Revs know they can win without him, but the biggest question will be if anyone still wants him. I’m sure they do but it may not be as high of a value as it could have been back in January.

4. Shalrie Joseph, New England Revolution: The man should be in the big-boy leagues but he isn’t yet. He nearly went to Celtic at one point and I would not be shocked to see him try to go once again if he isn’t happy. If the right deal comes along you could see Joseph land a nice contract with a good team in Europe. I think that’s what he is waiting on if he still has European aspirations.

5. Pablo Mastroeni, Colorado Rapids: He wants to go after this year and he will. It is just a matter of where. I’d kind of love to see him get traded this year to an actual contender and see him get a MLS Cup before he goes. Continue Reading…

Just how bad is it in the LA Galaxy organization right now? Bad enough that some heads could roll after yesterday’s surprising loss on the road to expansion side San Jose.

Yesterday, SI.com’s Jonah Freedman uncovered some very interesting things going on with the Galaxy, AEG president and CEO Tim Lieweke visited the Galaxy locker room last week and issued an ultimatum that if the team didn’t straighten things out that there would be “dire consequences.”

As we’ve seen before things are too peachy with General Manager Alexi Lalas and head coach Ruud Gullit. It seems as though now days Gullit and Lalas are not getting along too well. Big shocker huh?

I talked about it last week that Lalas’s job was probably entering it’s final hours. After yesterday’s loss the Galaxy are quickly playing themselves out of the playoff picture. Its not that the offense isn’t working, no its still the same issues in defense and in the defensive part of the midfield that are causing the most problems. Continue Reading…